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Thursday, March 23, 2006

Khas untuk Ali Akhbar!

I would like to thank my Penang kinfolk Ali Akhbar for writing to me, and apologise to him for this rather tardy response. Ali very kindly and indeed generously invited me to a spot of teh tarik and pasar nasi kandar. Thanks matey.

His invitation sets my mouth drooling and while I haven’t been back to Penang for a while, I yearn for the nasi kandar at the Kapitan Kling mosque in, I think, Pitt Street. I learnt about the place when I was a kid when Mum dragged my Dad and I to pray at the Kuan Yin temple. While she was kneeling to and worshipping the Chinese Penangites' most revered deity, Dad and I were eating at Penang’s most revered nasi kandar in front of the mosque, just a short walk away. Mum has always been pious while Dad and I were always hungry.


My dad loved any form of Indian food [Muslim or otherwise], and exposed me to these fares such as the one at the Kapitan Kling mosque, a row of stalls next to the old bazaar in Penang Road, Dawood restaurant somewhere in the vicinity of Penang Road, Sri Merah Minah* restaurant in Glugor and a stall right opposite Kuantan Road. I believe there were also some old stalls along Bricklin Road but I can’t be sure about this last one because after my old man passed away, I left Penang to work in another state.

* thanks to ali allah ditta's correction

Well, Ali, I’ll most certainly drop you a line next time I come Penang’s way so we may meet up. I look forward to this rendezvous.

Till we meet, cheers!

Anak PP

2 comments:

  1. ali, I love to meet up with you - nice of you for your offer, I accept with thanks. Wonderful all my Penangite kinfolks are damn generous ;-)

    And thanks too for refreshing me with all these wonders - how could I forget Craven A - I am only surprised it's still there but I wonder whether the kucing jumping through the No 9 is still on its roof? As a kid I used to steal a puff or two of Craven A.

    Yes, it ought to be Minah and not Merah [at least I've got the 'M' correct] - I am sorry to hear that Dawood has gone, I remember my Dad ordering me to go by City Council bus all the way to Penang St (thanks for the correction) for Dawood's fantastic curry bawal putih - my Dad likes the tail so as a kid I would carry a tiffin carrier all the way there and then ask for the 'punggung' instead of 'ekor'. Years later my Bahasa teacher venerable & highly respected Mr Abdul Karim had a jolly good laugh when I told him what I said to the restaurant man.

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  2. I was only a kid then under Mr Abdul Karim so I am not sure whether he was a NUTP leader in Penang. He was, I think, an Indian Muslim, stout like a man who enjoyed his food, yes, he had a paunch, wore specs, shaven but always carrying the faint signs of a growing beard, superb in 3 languages - English and Melayu [he taught me both] and also Arabic[he mentioned this to me once].

    I vaguely recall he lived somewhere in Lorong Aboo Sittee or Lorong Selamat, you know that area between Jalan Burma and Jalan Macalister. But I last heard from an old school mate that he had moved to Bayan Baru in the south. I would imagine, if still alive, he would be quite old and definitely retired by now.

    Truly one of the best teacher I had the privilege of studying under.

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